Two questions- one from Erik the Viking and vivi-rose

Erik the Viking- Question for Alvie: If you could change the past where you never met Crystal, and never became psychic, would you?

Alvie: Um... well... uh... Crystal: -_- Alvie: Nope. Wouldn't dare :) Crystal: Good. You're learning *smug* Alvie: *whispers* she's scary...

And from vivi-rose- To Alokia, do you like Coldplay? What are your top 5 books? (I know it's hard)

Alokia: Um... no, I don't really like Coldplay. I mean, they're OK and everything, but I'm not a huge fan... and top five books? Top FIVE? Why FIVE? That's not fair! (Wait, does a series count as 1 book, like Harry Potter? :) )

Ava had left Max for a few minutes for a bathroom break and came back to see him sat with Bethany and her gaggle of friends. Max was holding onto his hot chocolate as if his life depended on it and he was pale, his eyes hosting a guarded look. Ava stormed forward, regaining her calm on the way. She slipped her hand into the crook of Max's elbow and smiled sweetly at him. He looked relieved to see her and it was then that she noticed Bethany's friends were holding carrier bags of alcohol.

Her calm melted into rage and she slapped Bethany. She would have slapped all the friends as well, but Max pulled her back, his arm going around her waist.

"Stop it." He mumbled in her ear, but she didn't pay attention, fighting against him.

"You idiot. Drinking when pregnant and then trying to get him drunk again!"

"I wasn't drinking. I haven't and I won't. I just supervise them, hun." Bethany glared at her. "What's wrong with getting Max drunk anyway? He's fun."

"I'll tell you what's wrong with getting him drunk again." Ava broke free of Max's hold and squared up to Bethany. "That drink could have killed him. He had an operation to save him and one drink could set him back." Max was pulling her back again, his hands warm and gentle on her arms. "If you do anything to ruin what he's done…" Ava glared at Bethany, promising pain. Bethany had enough brain cells to know not to answer.

"Come on, Ava." Max drained the last of his hot chocolate, his arm around her shoulders. "We'll go home." He steered her out and hailed a taxi. She was still itching to go back inside and smack Bethany and her friends into the ground, but Max didn't want a full-out cat fight on his hands.

It took Max most of the ride home to get Ava to calm down a fraction. "Ava, I wouldn't have drunk that."

"You said the other day you were tempted!"

"Tempted, yeah. Not stupid." She scoffed, folding her arms and glaring out of the window. "I'm not going down that road again." Max said firmly. Ava didn't respond or look round. "Promise." Max added quietly.

Ava glanced at him in his reflection in the car window. Some of his colour had come back and he didn't seem so on edge, but he kept fidgeting and looking at her, trying to be discreet as if she wouldn't notice.

Sighing, she let herself relax and look at him.

"Promise?" He nodded, holding her gaze. Ava smiled at him. "Good."

They got back to Max's home in ten minutes.

"Well, they're out." Max voiced, noticing the lack of his father's car in the drive. He looked at her. "Want to make cakes?"

"And hot chocolate. You owe me hot chocolate."

"You owe yourself." Max muttered, paying the taxi driver and climbing out. He held his hand out to her. His hand was warm, calloused from years of training, but comforting. To Ava, it felt like her hand fit nicely in his.

Max made her a hot chocolate, with the little marshmallows. She sat at the table in the kitchen while he rummaged around for the stuff they needed to make cakes and cookies. Ava also wrote down a recipe for cakes she remembered from when she used to make cakes with her mother. It bought good memories, yet sadness as well.

Ava found out she had to supervise Max as he wasn't trusted alone in the kitchen- he was like his aunt, hosting the potential to make something explode in attempts to cook. She had to read the recipe to him several times, watching as he grew frustrated with his dyslexia.

"Oh, look, you've made a mess."

"But that's your side of the kitchen."

"You crossed the line."

"No I didn't."

"You did."

"Liar."

"Liar." Max wiped flour on her shirt and she dabbed cake mix on his face. "I win." She teased. Max held her face in his flour-coated hands, wiping it over her cheeks and nose and some on her forehead. "I hate you sometimes."

"I win."

"Ugh…" She waved her hands in the air and turned away, scooping cake mix into buttered tins. Max turned the radio on and they were met with Drake and Rihanna's Take Care.

I know you've been hurt… by someone else… I can tell by the way… you carry yourself… If you let me… here's what I'll do… I'll take care of you…

Ava slid the tins into the oven and turned around to start gathering their cooking equipment to put in the dishwasher. Max was dropping blobs of cookie mix onto the lined tray, his face scrunched up in concentration. He did look kind of cute…

Whoa, where did that come from? Ava shook her head, grabbing a dishcloth from the sink and wiping down her side of the counter. With all the flour everywhere, Max had drawn a line in the middle and created their 'sides'.

"Ha! In your face, cookie mix!"

"You're an idiot."

"It runs in the family." Max replied instantly, dumping his mixing bowl on the side and picking up his tray of cookie splodges. He hooked his foot in the handle of the oven and opened it, sliding the tray in and kicking the door shut. "Cookie mix?" He offered, reaching for the bowl. Ava smiled at him and they cleaned up the remains of the cookie mix together. "How long have they got to be in the oven?"

"There are timers, Max. I've set them."

"Oh. Good."

"Your side still needs cleaning." Max looked round, his finger in his mouth. Somehow, he had smeared cookie mix on his cheek. Ava reached out without thinking and brushed it away with her thumb. Her touch startled him and he dropped the bowl. It shattered on the floor and he cursed.

Heat rose in her cheeks and she stepped back, busying herself with getting the dustpan and brush from under the sink. Max took them from her, his expression blank, but his cheeks tinged pink. He swept up the shards and dumped them in the bin, not looking at her.

Ava watched him clean his side up and fill the dishwasher, chewing her lip and trying to stop her heart from racing. She should have known better than to wipe away the cookie mix herself. He was jumpy whenever somebody touched him and he had taken to covering his arms again. Ava wasn't sure why, but she didn't want to ask him in case it triggered a panic attack.

"Max…" She started. He looked at her, his expression carefully blank, but his eyes gleaming with… curiosity? What was that? "I… I didn't mean to… to make… make you jump, I just…" She hesitated, wringing her hands and casting her eyes at the floor, before nervously looking back up at him. "You had cookie mix on your face." She said quietly. He blinked, before a small smile broke out.

"And you've got flour on yours." He teased. Ava glowered at him, but she was smiling too.

"I'm going to go and clean up. Keep an eye on those." She gestured at the oven, turning on her heel and leaving him.

Max looked around nervously, rubbing his hands together and cracking his knuckles.

Give me love like her… 'cos lately I've been waking up alone… pain splattered teardrops on my shirt… told you I let them go…

Ava could hear the song through the quiet house from the kitchen. She loved that song, but the some of the lyrics reminded her of Max. She made a mental note to check his wrists after cleaning herself up a bit.

You know I'll fight my corner… And that tonight, I'll call ya… After my blood is drowning in alcohol… No I just wanna hold ya… Give a little time to me or burn this out… We'll play hide and seek, to turn this around… All I want is the taste that your lips allow… My, my, my, my, oh give me love…

Ava pulled herself from her the lyrics and ran the water over the face cloth. There was more flour on her face than she had first thought, but it was patchy and made it seem she was only sickly pale in places.

Movement at the edge of the mirror had her tensing and whirling round.

It was only Max, standing in the doorway. He looked a little lost, staring at her blankly with wide eyes and his hands clenched in fists at his sides.

"Are you OK?" Ava asked, setting the face cloth down and stepping forward. He didn't move or respond, continuing to stare at her. "Max?" She was only a foot from him now, studying his face and trying to determine what he was thinking.

He swallowed nervously before holding his hands out to her. Ava wanted to check his wrists, but thought better of it, biting her lip and resting her shaking hands in his. He pulled her into a hug, resting his head on her shoulder. Ava was a bit stunned at first, before returning his hug, twisting her fingers in his T-shirt.

She pulled back slightly and looked him in the eye. He watched her for a few seconds, various thoughts and emotions exploding and disappearing in his eyes like fireworks.

They leaned in at the same time and she felt his lips graze hers…

"Guys, we're home!" They jumped apart, as if an electric wire had struck them. "Max?" Annabeth called. "Ava?" Ava hurriedly washed the rest of her face, before darting downstairs. "What are you doing?"

"We were making cakes and cookies, but Max made a mess and put flour on my face."

"Where's Max?"

"Um, sorting himself out."

"Is he OK?"

No, he's damn fine, but you interrupted.

"Yeah, he's OK."

For his last chance, he did pretty well. Ava was curled up in her bed, unable to sleep. Max had walked her home after his parents got back, carrying the tub with her simply decorated cake in. She kind of hoped for him to try and kiss her again, but he didn't.

Obviously she was still mad at him. She would always be mad at him. In a few weeks, there would be a living reminder as to why she was mad at him. She may not see the baby often, seeing as she didn't see Tobias and Sophia that frequently, but it was the reason as to why she was so angry and jealous.

I'm not jealous.

You are. Her mind shot back. You were jealous even before that text from Bethany. You hated other girls trying to flirt with him while you were out.

He didn't flirt back!

Are you sure?

Well, yeah… I think so. Brain, shut up. I'm trying to go to sleep.

No. Let's stay awake all night thinking about life…

No.

Ava rolled onto her side and stared across the room. Alokia had fallen asleep with a book in her hands again and Elsie was sound asleep, her back to Ava. She glanced at the clock and saw it was past midnight.

Snatching up her phone, Ava decided to text Max.

Are you awake? Xxx

Yeah. I take it you are as well? Xxx

No, I can sleep text xxx

You're that good? Xxx

Yup xxx

Are you OK? Xxx

Yeah, why? Xxx

You're texting me at nearly one in the morning. What's wrong? Xxx

Just thinking about earlier… xxx

Max studied that text for a few seconds. Well, she was honest about it; he'd give her credit for that. And, admittedly, he was thinking about earlier too, but he couldn't bring himself to say what was on his mind, so he went with something almost worthy of his older brother:

Yeah, me too. Those cakes were nice xxx

Oh, you're impossible.

I know. I saved you some cookies xxx

Ok that's better xxx

Woo! Xxx

You're even idiotic over texts xxx

You should read the conversations me and Tobias have then. Something about leprechauns and pink, feathery trees…

What? O.o

Ask him. He started it xxx

Ok…

His phone fell silent and he debated with himself to send the text he had typed out: Would you possibly consider going to McDonalds with me tomorrow? He was trying to ask her out on a date, but his nerves were betraying him, making him erase the message. She seemed to save him from asking the awkward question.

Do you want to meet up? Xxx

When? Xxx

Now xxx

Now? Xxx

Yup. Get up, get dressed, get out. And leave a note- you know what your mom's like xxx

And meet you where? Xxx

Shop xxx

OK xxx

Max jumped up, pulling jeans and a T-shirt from the dresser. He grabbed his jacket from the hook on the door, pulled his trainers out from under his bed and climbed out the window, leaving a note on his bed for his mother in case she checked on him for some random reason in the middle of the night. He wouldn't be long- he doubted she would even see the message.

It didn't take him long to get to the local mini-mart. Ava turned up ten minutes later, bundled up against the cold. She smiled sheepishly at him, her arms folded to preserve heat.

"Hiya." Max always thought that was a good start. A simple greeting.

"Hi."

"So… why did you get me up and out before one in the morning, may I ask?" She pursed her lips.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"You could have texted me and be in the warm." He pointed out. She glared at him. "Not that seeing you isn't bad."

"Nice save."

"What'd you want to talk about?" Max asked, his hands fidgeting nervously. Ava dropped her gaze, studying her shoes for a few seconds. She took a deep breath and looked back up at him, as eerily calm as anything.

"Earlier. Not the cakes."

"Or the cookies." Max added quietly. She nodded, pressing her lips together with a thoughtful gleam in her lava eyes.

She looked ready to speak further, but she hesitated. Max didn't know what to do either. He wanted to try and kiss her again, this time without interruptions, hopefully, but something stopped him. He had no idea what spurred him on earlier, but it wasn't here now. Instead, he was a bundle of nerves, trying to get his head together to talk to this girl.

Ava examined Max carefully, noticing his hands were furling and unfurling into and from fists. He kept drumming his fingers on the back of his hand, constantly switching hands and then he cracked his knuckles, a nervous habit she was familiar with.

"Max…" She started, but her words faltered. Max stared at her with those intense silvery-grey eyes that seemed almost pitch black in the night darkness. "I, um… sorry about… about kicking off earlier with Bethany and that lot." He smiled, which confused Ava.

"Kick off all you want where she's concerned. She keeps trying to get me to drink, but…" He shook his head. "Don't want to." She recalled his relief at her return, the way he had held his mug of hot chocolate.

He held his hand out to her. "Want to go for a walk?" He asked.

"OK." She replied quietly, feeling slightly, yet pathetically giddy as she took his hand.

They didn't walk far, just around the block a few times, cutting through alleys and darting across streets. Other than the odd car and drunken person, they didn't really see anybody.

Max didn't let go of her hand either, which Ava couldn't stop smiling like an idiot about. His nervous energy was mostly gone, having been transferred into walking energy. Max didn't talk much and Ava found herself talking more than usual, her nervous habit.

"Phoenix and Charlie really liked the cakes, but Louisa could have killed me for getting Charlie hyper like that. He was bouncing off the walls, the sofa, anything really and he insisted he was a turtle at one point, which was weird. He chased Phoenix around the apartment before Leo distracted him and Phoenix kept calling Charlie 'the cray-cray boy'. Um, Elsie found it all very funny and had a laser pointer. Charlie tried to catch that and Alokia was recording it. Charlie wasn't happy when the red dot was just that little bit too far out of his reach." Max smiled, imagining his young cousin jumping up and trying to catch a red dot that never stayed still.

"They're mean."

"It was so funny. You should have seen it. Charlie crashed about six and collapsed on the sofa, out like a light. He was so cute!" Ava noticed that Max had changed direction and that she was following him. "Where are we going?"

"I'm getting you home. Lou will go nuts if she finds you're missing."

"Oh…" Ava's shoulders sagged and she suddenly didn't feel like talking, as if all her words had been spent. Max looked at her curiously. "Nothing." She mumbled, glad that the dark hid her blush.

They were minutes from the Valdez residence when Max tugged sharply on her hand, drawing her to him. Before Ava knew what was going on, he was kissing her.

It was a shy, curious kiss, gentle yet loving. Max feared she would pull away and not talk to him ever again, but once she got over the initial surprise, she kissed him back. Max's heart soared and he tightened his arms around her in a grateful hug. Her arms went around his neck and he felt her relax, smiling against his lips.

They parted for air. Max laughed, surprising her. He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, smiling like the goofball he was.

"I've waited ages to do that." He told her, his fingertips gently brushing her bottom lip.

"You could do it again if you want." Ava mumbled, still mildly dazed. Max cracked up laughing.

"Oh, you're good." He grinned, kissing her again.

In your face, Bethany, Ava thought smugly, he's mine.

Ta-da! :D